Ugly Tourist

It finally happened, as it always does on my travels abroad - THE UGLY TOURIST moment. This one occurred on the way to our beautiful day at Kleopatra Beach (see previous post). Brewer and I were near the back of the crowded city bus, sitting among primarily Turks, when a distinct English "Are all of you Turkish stupid?" resounded through the rear. When no one answered, an elderly European man (at least he was not American this time!) responded to himself with "I guess all Turkish people are stupid" and proceeded to lean over four rows of people to shut their bus windows, assuming - mistakenly - that the non-working A/C was escaping. When one 20-something Turk opened his window back up and responded that this was not his problem, the European began his 'tutorial' of "It is your problem because I'm a tourist. And when you do stupid things, I won't visit and this is a problem for all of you Turks here."

It was a car-crash scenario for me for two reasons. First I wanted to stay out of the situation and look straight ahead, but it was difficult not to turn around to gawk and to try to figure out WHO was this guy? Second, and more importantly to me, it raised nightmares about people's understanding of economics. I have been an economics professor for 15 years now and have taught supply and demand to a lot of students. I spent the rest of that bus ride considering how 'demand' in that important concept is perceived. And don't get me wrong: I try to practice what I teach. (Ex - our Alanya beaches are studded with beach hut establishments that offer chairs, food and drink. On our first afternoon in Alanya, we ran to put our toes in the sand. A worker of Beach Hut #9 cheerfully offered chairs and an umbrella for free if we ordered something from the grill. We offered a polite 'no thanks' and he extended the offer for any day - a common practice here we now understand. But days later Kelly sat down on a chair there and was gruffly told by a different employee to pay or vacate, and it did not matter if we ordered anything. Suffice it to say that we are now very good and loyal customers of Beach Hut #10 and they will receive our four months' worth of expenditures).

But this European tourist seemed to take 'demand' to an entirely new level, assuming all Turks should worship his patronage, and most noticeably voicing this aloud not to business owners, but to random nearby Turks. I kept pondering: is this how most people perceive supply and demand? I certainly expect (and hope) not for my own students. Economic theory comes from a great history of philosophical and ethical study, and I try to make sure that is emphasized. But what about those who have only a cursory (or no) academic exposure to the concept of 'demand'? I pondered whether I could write a next economics textbook (that would actually sell) instead advocating the concepts of supply and choice. But that was short-lived (for now). Our family had arrived at Kleopatra Beach and it was time to rinse away my memories of the Ugly Tourist in the beautiful and friendly waters of the Turkish Mediterranean Sea. - Alan